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May. 25, 2014 at 7:05PM

Pool chemical injuries send thousands to the ER

CDC data shows children, teens make up majority of injuries

Ten-year-old Grant McKinley, of Omaha, Neb., flips into the City Park Pool in Iowa City on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. With the heat index exceeding 100 degrees, the National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning through 9 p.m. Thursday (David Scrivner/SourceMedia Group)

Nationwide, about 5,000 people in 2012 went the emergency room because of pool chemical injuries, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children and teenagers made up almost half to those with preventable injuries, the CDC found, and more than a third of the injuries occurred at a home.

The majority of pool chemical injuries happened during the summer swim season — from Memorial Day to Labor Day — and almost half occurred on weekends.

“Chemicals are added to the water in pools to stop germs from spreading,” said Michele Hlavsa, chief of CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program. “But they need to be handled and stored safely to avoid serious injuries.”

The CDC recommended the following steps to prevent pool chemical injuries:

l Read and follow directions on product labels.

l Wear appropriate safety equipment, such as goggles and masks, as directed, when handling pool chemicals.

The study analyzed data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which looks at injuries related to consumer products from about 100 hospital emergency departments nationwide.

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